Masquerade
by The Goddess of the Night
Summary: Dragons are the outcasts of society, the dark shadows in every corner, watching the world go by yet barely aging with time. They can appear human, they can emulate humans exactly, down to the last emotion. All that's stopping them from taking over the world entirely is the Order and their small numbers; how long will that last?


Dragons are the outcasts of society, the dark shadows in every corner, watching the world go by yet barely aging with time. They can appear human, they can emulate humans exactly, down to the last emotion. All that's stopping them from taking over the world entirely is the Order and their small numbers; how long will that last?

"Strike a match and watch it burn, I'll set the world ablaze; since it's this game that you play, fuel the flames of the pyre; and I will burn higher, burn brighter, fight fire with fire…"

* * *

She is shimmering scales of flowing turquoise, wings of pale blue stretching and wrapping around me. She is glowing cerulean eyes, gazing down at me with naught but sadness and yearning. She is mother, a Chameleon.

He was flaming crimson, burning with silent flames at the mouth of the cave. Guarding, watching, paranoid of the world outside. He was glistening red claws, not only because of his natural color, but because of all the ones he had killed. He was father, a Viper.

I was Wraithe. Borne of two dragons, of a world apart from that of humans, of mortals. I was a Shifter. A dragon. A hellish creature by mortal standards, direct servants to the devil, cursed to bring death with every step, demons in humans' skin. I was an oddity, a hatchling with an ability that can either be a blessing or a curse, depending on who you ask.

* * *

Dragons. Hunted to near extinction by the Order, forced into hiding from the humans' fear of what they did not understand. The Order? A legendary society, whose sole purpose was to kill the outcasts of society, the beasts of scales and leathery wings and searing flames. The dragons had no chance, divided as they were. The Elder Wyrm, oldest of the dragons, united the remainders of the dragons and led them into hiding- among the humans. They hid in human form for thousands of years, ever so slowly growing their numbers in secret. They are cunning, they are strong; the apex predator. And their goal is to take over the world with humans none the wiser.

* * *

"Wraithe."

"Ma'am."

"Name your human name, when your parents died, and the cause of death."

"I am Tsumi Tsukino, orphaned due to Akane Tsukino and Misaki Kuromura's unfortunate deaths on a mission, where they ran into an unexpected enemy scout who proved to be a perfect counter to their abilities. They both died in the fight, but the scout was later killed by their third teammate, Ryuunosuke, who tried running back to the village yet dying before he was close enough to even see the gates."

"Excellent. Miasma, the same goes for you."

My 'twin' stifled a sigh, muttering something under her breath about "Stupid bastards, sticking curtains over the windows so I can't feel the wind…" Our trainer shifted her gaze from her notebook to Miasma, the slight raising of an eyebrow acting as my only indication that she heard anything that Miasma had said.

"Would you care to repeat that, Miasma?"

She straightened, staring longingly towards the curtained window of our carriage before reciting her history as well. "I am Izumi Tsukino, orphaned because our parents were on a mission and they ran into a scout who they just couldn't kill. The scout was later killed, as was their third teammate. Good enough for you, Miss Hozuka?" Her lips curled in a half-snarl, the last words spat out with enough malice for the both of us.

My dragon roared up at the challenge in her voice, expecting a fight from her tone. I shoved it back down; Shifting in the small carriage would likely crush a few bones, and definitely not be good for our secrecy.

Our trainer narrowed her eyes, jotting something down in her notebook, before once again turning to me. "Wraithe, name your true purpose for being here."

I responded without question nor emotion in my voice. Miasma could be as rebellious as she wanted, but I would not. Could not. "We are to observe and blend in," I spoke, reciting it with a monotone that Talon would be proud of. "Learn how to engage with humans, to be human. Assimilate into their social structure however we can, and make them believe that we are one of them."

"Good. Now, remember, we will be speaking to the Mizukage, a powerful human, who- despite still being weaker than our stronger dragons- could still cause you harm if you are exposed. I expect you two to be on your best behavior, as he is the one who runs the village, and he is the one who will enroll you two in the Academy, your first step in assimilation. Understood?" Miss Hozuka stared us down with an expectant look, and I didn't meet her gaze. Doing so would be considered a challenge among dragons, and I would not survive a battle with an adult dragon.

"Yes, ma'am." My clear, emotionless voice was followed by Miasma's reluctant "Yea…"

The carriage pulled up to Kirigakure's gates, and Miss Hozuka stepped out, signalling for us to follow. We had learned all about humans; how they acted, what they did, everything. And now we would be living among them, in a hidden ninja village.

* * *

"Alright, children, come here." Miss Hozuka stood, waiting, just inside the village gates, as we slowly clambered out of the horse-drawn carriage. Miasma reached for her belongings, but the driver interrupted, "Miss Tsukino, I'll get your bags." She furrowed her brow, stepping a little closer, "Are you sure?" The human stiffened, directing his gaze elsewhere.

Mortals. I motioned for her to follow me, and she trudged along until we arrived inside the village, our trainer following a planned path to reach the Kage tower, a massive cylindrical building, taller and larger than all in the village. My twin was gazing up at it in awe, and I was very much tempted to do the same. We weren't truly twins; dragons only ever laid one egg at a time, and siblings were impossible. But for this mission, for our assimilation, we were acting as twins, to "throw off the Order. They'll be looking for a single, orphaned oddity, not a pair of siblings who seem perfectly normal," as our trainer put it.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and a second later, an ashen-eyed, pale-haired girl was gazing back at me with a blank look on her face from a nearby window as I stepped into the Kage tower. Ready to meet my fate in this human village, ready for the judgement of Talon, ready to possibly die by the hands of the Order if they ever found me.

* * *

AN: I'll only say this once, because I am incredibly lazy. Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or the Talon Saga, or any other franchise mentioned here, and if you think I do, you are evidently mistaken and I will send a Talon operative to your door to 'correct' you. XD Anyway, since I seem to have a bad habit of starting stories and ditching them not even a day later, and I recently began reading the Talon Saga, I decided to try to write a long-ish story for the lolz and see how long it'll last. I doubt it'll be as popular as Faith, which died after the prologue, but hey, I can try!

R&R!


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